Film Review: Teenagers From Outer Space (1959)
Young Alien Love Saves the World
It’s always enjoyable (and interesting) to see where now high-tech movie genres like science fiction got their start. Teenagers From Outer Space, written and directed by Tom Graeff, must have made quite a splash in 1959 when it was first released in movie theatres. Though its special effects and film-editing serve as B-movie entertainment now, you can appreciate the novelty they had fifty years ago.
UFO Lands Near Abandoned Mine Shaft
The storyline of Teenagers From Outer Space revolves around a mysterious spaceship that lands in America near an abandoned mineshaft. Its inhabitants – a crew of youthful alien man and their captain – test the environment to find out if it is suitable for their needs. They do not plan on settling on this land, however; rather, they intend to turn the world into a breeding ground for “gargons”, their alien food source (which are actually giant lobsters).
One of the aliens, Derek (played by David Love), cannot support the mission. He has learned about the human world and longs to be a part of it; he mourns the fact that he has never known who his family was, and he dreads the idea of all earthlings being destroyed by the gargons. The moment he expresses slight dissent, the team captain orders that he be caught and forced back onto the ship. He cannot be killed, though, because the captain has just discovered that Derek is the son of the alien species’ mighty leader.
Teenage Human Girl Meets Teenage Alien Boy
Derek ends up at the home of Betty Morgan (Dawn Anderson), a sweet girl-next-door type who lives with her quirky, always napping grandfather (Harvey B. Dunn). Within hours, he has become Betty and Gramps’ new tenant, and in the meantime has unknowingly dragged the two of them into a battle with Thor (Bryan Grant), his dangerous shipmate, who is not paying heed to the captain’s orders to keep Derek alive.
Ever-Growing Gargons Threaten the World
Together, Betty and Derek (who have fallen quickly and deeply in love) must fight against not only Thor and his deathly ray gun (anyone hit with a ray is disintegrated instantly to nothing but bones), but also the gargon that has been released near the mineshaft, and is growing exponentially in size and danger.
Can Thor be stopped, or will he continue his ray gun killing spree? Will Derek muster the strength and courage to put a stop to the catastrophic gargon? Only time – and tuning into the film for yourself – will tell!
Teenagers From Outer Space is a charming and hilarious film for any sci-fi or B-movie lover. The storyline is much fuller and complete than a lot of other films from the time period, and the special effects are highly entertaining: the skeletons created by the ray gun still have hanging hooks attached to the skulls from their medical pasts, and the gargon is a lobster’s shadow, grossly enlarged and superimposed upon the film. The cast is lovable and the costumes are priceless. This one’s definitely worth watching.
Teenagers From Outer Space (1959)
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